My Simply Magical Classroom

Oh my goodness!  I forgot how hectic the beginning of the school year was!  We started school...oh about...a month ago?  And I'm FINALLY getting this posted!  Whew.  I'm still not done with my room - it's a work in progress. :)  But here's what the Simply Magical Classroom looks like for now!

Here's my Pinterest inspired UP bulletin board.  I couldn't find one exactly like what I had imagined, so I improvised. 

Here's my door!  I love Krista Wallden's work at Creative Clips Graphics.  Almost everything I make has something in it from her - like these chevron papers.  Hopefully I'll have these pennant banners on TPT soon for you!

Here's my behavior chart in action!  I give tickets according to what color the students are on at the end of the day.  One for yellow, two for orange, and three for red.  The kids LOVE it!  You can snatch up my Behavior Chart here.

Here's our daily schedule - again with Krista's papers!

ALL year long last year I tried to think of a way to hide our closet.  I tried everything imaginable to get these curtains to stay up.  My mom walked in this summer and within 5 minutes, she came up with this marvelous solution - bike hangers and a PVC pipe.  She's a genius.

Remember when I made those bookshelves this summer?  Here they are in action!  With an amazing library organizing system from Maria Monore at Kinder-Craze!

Here's the only Reading Centers organization chart that I think will ever work for me.  I'll post more on this later. :)

My Birthday Chart with adorable cupcakes by...guess who!  Krista again! And my Teacher's Pet puppy - the best (and simplest) Classroom Jobs Chart imaginable created by A Teeny Tiny Teacher.

And last, but not least, my hanging lanterns.  It's hard to describe how much this adds to my classroom.  I can't even take a good picture to describe it.  If you are allowed to hang things in your classroom, DO!  It makes life so much happier!

I still have A LOT more work to do to get my classroom where I want it.  But just like learning, it's a work in progress the whole year through. :)

New School Year, New Bookshelves

So do you remember those bookshelves I got at yard sales in this post?  They looked like this:

They were cheap and in good shape, but they weren't really appealing for a first grade classroom.  And they didn't match.  So to make them beautiful, we looked on Pinterest to see how to paint laminate.  For the record, Pinterest isn't always a completely reliable source...  Pinterest told us to paint them with primer (which took about 4-5 coats just to make it look consistently white) and then use colored paint.  The primer was still coming off through the paint, but overall it looked pretty good.  It took me, my mother, and my mother-in-law about 11 hours to do these shelves.  If it hadn't been for them, I would have spent DAYS painting.  This year we're going to have a big long discussion in my classroom about how to be gentle with the bookshelves - because I am NOT painting laminate again.

Here they are!  We used painters tape and Frog Tape to get the different designs.

And for the record, the princess shelf in the picture from the yard sales is staying just the way it is.  I just don't have the heart to paint over Belle and Cinderella - nor the energy.

Freebie Friday!

Get some superhero writers in your class with this freebie!  This freebie includes posters to remind your students of some of the most important pieces they need for their writing - from punctuation to writing formation.  This resource also includes posters for POW + TIDE, which is a great tool to use for responding to text through writing.  Check it out, print it out, and put it up!

 

 Click the picture below

(Double) Freebie Friday!

In celebration of Friday, here's a featured freebie of mine for you!  Excuse the not so cute design...I was still learning how to make products.  No matter how it looks though, I love how this product works.

I get really tired of sorting games being super simple.  Students can sort words that start with the blend "tr", but I never know if they're actually reading it, or just looking at the "tr" and putting it in the correct pile.  In a search to make an accurate assessment, I created this.  On this sheet, students have to look at the picture and say what it is.  Then they identify the blend they are saying and cut and paste it in the box.  For further connection, they can write the word on the handwriting lines.

I use the first sheet for beginning blends, and the second for ending blends.  This really helps me see who has it and who needs some more help.

Click here to get the freebie for yourself!

For a double freebie, check out this great set of clip art!  It's by Krista Wallden at Creative Clips Graphics - my absolute favorite!  She's trying to reach a feedback goal, so don't forget to leave her some awesome compliments if you download it!

Click here to get the freebie for yourself!

Have a magical year!

Why I love Yard Sales!

Some women have a thing for shoes.  Not me.  Others have a love for buying new clothes.  No, thank you.  What I love...well, actually there's two things: food and good deals.  There's no way to my heart quite like food, but today I'm going to focus on the "good deals" section of my love.

I think every classroom teacher loves good deals, because having a classroom is pricey!  There's books to buy, bulletin boards to create, and little details down to the kleenex boxes that are sure to run out right in cold season.

This is exactly why I love yard sales.  I can get SO many things for my little ones to use for at least half the price.  So far this summer, I've went "yard sale-ing" three days.  Just take a gander at this loot.

I have 2 closing cabinets, 3 shelves, 1 rack (with Disney princesses!), and a hot pink bean bag (not shown in picture).  Regularly, this would have cost at least $100 - if not more.  I know I bought a shelf this year like those on top for $20 by itself.  Ready to guess how much all of this was...c'mon guess.  Twenty-five bucks.  So for $25, I now have pretty much my entire reading center for this upcoming year.  With a little bit of repainting, these will fit right into my classroom.

So teachers out there, take advantage of this summer!  Go hit yard sales at least once every couple weeks.  Find them in the newspaper, look on Craigslist, or my favorite - just go out and follow the signs.  Your classroom will look fabulous and you'll have more money to spend on those shoes, clothes, or in my case - food.